Silent Scream: Part Thirty

“Ummm…What about a hat?” he suggests, pausing outside a small boutique. “She likes hats.” He looks up at the oversized hat sitting on Michael’s head. “You both do!”

Michael laughs and runs his fingers over the brim. “Hey, kid. Don’t hate the hat. Hate the game.”

Alexander sticks out his tongue and tugs on Michael’s hand. “Let’s go in there. I think Grandma would like that one.” He points to a straw hat on the top shelf. There’s a purple ribbon wrapped around it.

Michael raises his eyebrow. “You’ve got a good eye, kid. Come on. After this we’ll go get something to eat.”

“We should get some flowers, too,” Alexander says. “For the grave.”

Michael misses a beat. Just one.

“Yeah,” he says, nodding. “Maybe after we get food, though. So they don’t dry out. What do you feel like eating?”

Alexander grins. “CUPCAKES.”

Michael chuckles. “You and cupcakes, I swear. You’re not going to have any teeth left if you keep eating all this sugar!”

Alexander bares his teeth. “I’m only missing one,” he mumbles, poking his finger into his mouth and pointing out his missing back tooth. “My other ones grew back!”

Michael smiles and ruffles his hair. “Yeah? Teeth tend to do that, kid.”

They leave the store with a new hat for Elizabeth and a new hat for Michael.

“Why did you get a present?” Alexander grumbles. “It’s not your birthday.”